i Spy
by chica blanca
Summary: Not realy sure what to write here...Ichigo's thoughts...white walls...and a healing game of 'i spy'


AN: okay no clue where this came from…I just thought about white walls and it just kinda evolved into this…strange little ficlet. Anywho review if ya want,

I Spy

The walls are white. The ceiling is white. And I'd bet everything that the damn floor is white too. That is, if I could see it. In my current position I am lying flat on my back, restraints and a binding spell making it nearly impossible to move. Well that's what they think.

You see, I could move if I wanted too. I could break out of here, get away from the whiteness and the restraints. But what would I be running towards? The wars are over, there is no one left to fight. My comrades are either dead, or in there own white room somewhere on this floor. Or maybe they have different colored rooms? For their sake I hope so, because I think all the whiteness is driving me crazy.

I know Rukia is in one. The nurses for some reason seem to think I'm deaf just because I don't react to their words, and they talk about her. That's a small ray of warmth in this cold room. Knowing she's close, and that she's doing better than me. They say she doesn't need to be restrained; her mind's just broken.

They think I'm already crazy, but I know what insanity is and I haven't quite reached that yet. My hollow, now he is crazy. Always yelling about how I should break out and crush those who dare defy me…blah blah blah. He never seems to shut up, yet I've learned to drown him out.

But sometimes I think he may be right. I've become a purposeless king. A discarded weapon that no one needs anymore, and is just afraid that it will self destruct and take everything with it. There must be a purpose somewhere…I must be needed somewhere, for something…

Rukia used to be my driving force. I could always count on her to need me. And Orihime. She needed me too. But when she died, she reappeared in Soul Society and if the rumors I hear are true, is already halfway through the Academy. She doesn't need me any longer.

But Rukia. She may not need me…but maybe I need her? Maybe we need each other. I can almost feel her presence, just a few feet and walls separate us. Maybe I don't need a purpose. Maybe I just need a reason…maybe…

I tug experimentally at the restraints and hearing them rip easily and the binding spell break with such little effort nearly sends me into laughter. I know I have little time, because surely they are monitoring me. I place my feet on the, you guessed it, white floor and made my way stiffly to the door. I'm not sure how long it has been since I last walked, but it seems like forever.

My joints are creaking but I open the door and stick my head out into the hallway. No one's running to my room yet. Now I just have to focus on Rukia. I can sense her only a few doors down and I walk painfully towards the closed door. I hesitate with my hand on the door, wondering if this is the right thing to do.

Resolve, something I haven't felt in so long that I almost forgot that intoxicating sense of conviction. My face spasms in what might have been a smile. I open the door and sigh in relief at the lack of white in the room.

Actually it isn't half bad. The walls are painted a warm yellow and the room was decorated with light wicker furniture. She even has a window that lets the warm glow of sunlight through. I let my eyes scan the room in its entirety before I look for her.

She is sitting in the window ledge, her legs pulled up under her. She hasn't turned yet, probably thinking I'm one of the nurses. I say her name softly, my voice rusty with disuse.

"Rukia."

She turned slowly and tilted her head to the side when she saw me standing there. "You look familiar, do I know you?" There was a simple childlike expression on her face and her eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

I stepped further in the room and nearly fall into the chair that sits beside the window. "Maybe." The short walk to her room has left me tired. It must have taken more out of me to break the restraints than I thought.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and studied my face. "Yeah, I know you from somewhere." A smile split her face and for the first time I feet happiness flood my fractured soul. "Will you be my friend?"

I was right; we do need each other. "Of course."

My head snaps to the side as I sense a figure in the doorway. Unohana is standing there calmly. I tense, sensing she is here to take me back to my white prison, but she simply stands there.

We stare at each other for a few moments before she nods and closes the door soflty. I have to admit her actions confuse me, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. I turn back to see Rukia looking at me expectantly.

"What?" I have to swallow several times; my voice really is raw.

She smiled again. "You wanna play a game?"

My face muscles strained as they fought their way into the first smile in a long time. "Alright let's play a game."

Her eyes lit up. "Okay…I spy with my little eye…something…orange!"


End file.
